PITTSBURGH >> Just two games have been played, but it is enough for Ducks coach Randy Carlyle to become disturbed at a trend he doesn’t want to see.

Glaring defensive breakdowns in front of the net resulted in a loss to Dallas to kick off Carlyle’s second stint as coach. Mixing in a goaltending gaffe with another error in coverage made for a second loss in as many games.

The season is very young and they were dealing with the Stanley Cup champions, but the Ducks aren’t off to an encouraging start, with Conor Sheary and Phil Kessel scoring second-period goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins held them off for a 3-2 victory Saturday night.

Seven goals have been given up by the Ducks in their two losses and in Carlyle’s eyes, most of the scores have come too easily. In this one, it was the goals by Sheary and Kessel that snapped a 1-1 tie and left him irritated afterward.

“We can measure our game by the number of mistakes that we feel we made that are correctable,” Carlyle said. “And our team’s not playing to the level that’s required right now from our group. Simple as that.”

The Ducks (0-2) got goals from Cam Fowler and Corey Perry, but they’ve now gone without a win at PPG Paints Arena since Feb. 15, 2012. Jonathan Bernier made 42 saves in a commendable Ducks debut, but it wasn’t without his own mistakes.

Sheary’s goal can be blamed on a mishandling of the puck by Bernier and miscommunication with Cam Fowler behind his net. Matt Cullen was able to poke the puck free into the crease and Sheary jammed it in as the goalie tried to scramble back into position.

“I was just trying to stop it,” Bernier said. “I was a lot of spin on the puck and it hit his blade. I think it went through my skate. I was trying to find it for a second. By time I found it, the guy kind of poked it. I tried to freeze it, but there was just chaos after.

“It was a play that I need to execute better, obviously. That’s a poor play on my behalf.”

A standout in Pittsburgh’s run to the Cup last spring, Kessel made it 3-1 with a power-play strike. The winger managed to break in free between the Ducks’ four penalty killers and snapped a low shot under Bernier’s right pad.

Recalling the play, Carlyle pointed at Jakob Silfverberg’s heading out of the defensive zone too early.

“We had an opportunity for a clear and we got checked,” Carlyle said. “There should have been another layer of defense there, but the forward felt that we had the puck and was going down the ice. He was above the top of the circle going the other way, and Phil Kessel was going one-on-one with your goalie.”

Bernier had the one errant handling of the puck but he also made 42 saves, some of which were strong stops that allowed the Ducks to stay close and get a look at the game.

“He made some big stops for us,” Carlyle said. “We left him hanging high and dry. Again, your goalie is your last line of defense. He made some A-1 stops for us, but you can’t give up those types of goals in these types of games.”

Fowler did help the Ducks snap out of early issues with the power play. The defenseman shot off Ryan Getzlaf’s pass and got it through a screened Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, taking advantage of a two-man advantage created by Pittsburgh penalties four seconds apart.

It answered a rare goal by Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole in the first period.

But the Ducks have yet to work with a lead, as the Penguins broke the tie and added to their edge.

“This is a new beginning, a new season,” Perry said. “You got to go out and you got to prove yourself all over again. Last year wasn’t a great start. Everybody knows that. We don’t have to talk about it.

“It’s a tough road trip to begin the season. We need that first win to get us going and get the confidence up again.”

Perry did make it a one-goal game with a rebound score for his first of the season after Getzlaf batted the puck forward on a faceoff play. Otherwise, Fleury foiled the Ducks by making 34 stops.

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